"2024 Free Format Recovery Software | Easily Restore Formatted Hard Drive/USB Drive"

Applies to: Free recover unformatted data from unformatted HDD/SSD, external hard drive, USB flash drive, SD card, etc.

Have you accidentally formatted the hard drive when Windows prompts “You need to format disk N: before you can use it”? And then lost important data?

Get your best unformatted solutions by navigating through the content sidebar:

What does "Unformat" mean?

To understand what unformat means, you first need to grasp the meaning of format.

High-level formatting usually refers to the process of preparing a selected drive for use, erasing all data on it, and setting up a new file system.

“Unformat” refers to the recovery of lost data from a high-level formatted disk (such as a hard drive, USB flash drive, or memory card), and, if possible, restoration of the file system to its previous state.

Then what should you do when you format the wrong device? How to unformat a disk? For Mac users, you can refer to how to unformat Mac hard drive for assistance. Windows users can follow this guide to safely unformat your disk and immediately recover all files.

What to Do When You Format the Wrong Drive

When you accidentally format the wrong storage device, such as a hard drive, external USB, or SD card, you can do one of two things:

• First of all, stop using the formatted device. Do not add or save new files to the drive.
• Next, turn to a reliable format recovery software.

If you need free formatting software, Free Data Recovery Tool can help you.

"Best Free Undelete Software for Download"

With the help of free data recovery software - Data Recovery Wizard Free Edition, you can easily fix this issue and recover formatted data from your local hard drive, external hard drive, USB flash drive, memory card, and more, whether you're a beginner or advanced user.

If you have lost important files due to hard drive formatting, Easy Data Recovery Wizard can help you get them back.

This free formatting software is worth a try for its high performance, stability, and flexibility:

• Supports formatted recovery, deleted file recovery, partition recovery, and OS crash recovery, etc. • Supports all existing file types (photos, videos, audio files, documents, emails, etc.).

How to use the Unformat Freeware - Data Recovery Tool to recover data

To format a storage device, you need to perform two procedures:

1. Recover Data from Formatted Hard Drive

With Data Recovery Wizard, it's extremely easy to restore formatting on hard drives, USB flash drives, memory cards, and more. Your files can be recovered in just a few simple steps and in a matter of minutes.

Video Tutorial: How to Recover Files from a Formatted Hard Drive

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Note: To ensure a higher chance of successful data recovery, install the data recovery tool on a different disk from the formatted one.

Step 1: Launch tools Data Recovery Wizard. Select the hard drive partition that you accidentally formatted and click "Scan".

Step 2: The formatting hard drive recovery software will start scanning all lost data and files. After the scan, you can click "Filter" to filter specific file types and quickly locate the needed files. Or, you can click "Search for files or folders" to select the data you want to retrieve.

Step 3: Preview the scanned files. Select the files you want to recover and click “Recover.” Choose a new location to save these files, then click “OK.”

Note: Do not save the recovered files back to the formatted device until you are sure that it can store data.

These steps showed you how to unformat a hard drive. You can use the same method to recover data from other storage devices.

2. Format the device or restore it to a previous file system (optional)

If you changed the device's file system during the formatting process and want to revert to its previous format, you can try formatting it again and resetting the file system on the drive.

Therefore, we recommend saving the recovered data to another secure location to prevent further data loss.

Here, we'll show you how to restore your device to its previous file system by formatting the USB as FAT32, for example:

Step 1: Connect the USB drive to your computer and press Windows + E to open File Explorer.

Step 2: Right-click on your USB drive and select "Format."

Step 3. Make sure the file system is set to FAT32 (assuming that it's the default format) and check the box for “Quick Format.” Click “Start.”

You can also use this method to restore your device to a different file system, provided you've used free unformat software to recover and save the formatted data to a safe location first.

Tips: If you want to convert FAT32 on a storage device back to NTFS, besides formatting, you can also try: Convert FAT32 to NTFS without losing data.

Bottom line: Conclusion

On this page, we explain the concept of "unformat," which actually refers to the process of data recovery after formatting. If you have accidentally formatted a hard drive, the first thing you should do is stop using the device and turn to a reliable unformat tool.

The powerful Unformatted Recovery tool - Data Recovery Wizard, can fully meet your needs and recover files from formatted disk in 3 easy steps.

If any of you wish to reset or restore the file system of your device to its previous state, you could format the drive again after saving the recovered data to a secure location.

Lastly, to save your important files from accidental formatting, it's best to create additional backups of your data the right way. You can manually copy and paste each file, or use reliable file backup software to safely back up all your data in one go.

"Frequently Asked Questions" for "Unformat Freeware"

Here are 4 extra questions about free formatting recovery software. Click here to view the answers.

1. What is formatting and unformatting?

The term “formatting” usually refers to high-level formatting, which describes the process of wiping all data from a selected drive partition and creating a new file system, so that it is ready for use.

"Unformat" refers to the process of recovering lost data from a high-level formatted disk, such as a hard drive, USB flash drive, or memory card, and restoring the file system as close as possible to its original state.

2. Can a formatted hard drive be recovered?

Can formatted hard drive data be recovered? The short answer is yes, it's possible to recover data from a formatted hard drive using professional data recovery software. Although formatting a hard drive removes all currently stored files and other data, it does not completely overwrite or eliminate the information. Instead, it rearranges the location of the data and makes it accessible in a format readable by most data recovery programs.

3. Can I recover formatted SSD?

Due to a function called TRIM, which internally deletes files soon after they're removed, recovering from a formatted SSD can be challenging. However, as soon as the user realizes the data is lost, TRIM can be immediately disabled to prevent it from activating. After that, you can use a reliable data recovery app to scan your SSD and restore your content.

4. How to recover files after formatting in Windows 10/11?

• Do not add any new data to the formatted hard drive.
• On a Windows computer, download and install a data recovery tool.
• Open the formatted partition in the data recovery software for scanning.
• Preview the data and transfer it to a different drive.